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Ask Marilyn: That Question about Required Preflight Testing

Alice Craig of Alpharetta, Georgia, writes:

Marilyn: I was surprised by your answer to the commercial pilot who asked what all the required checks he performs before each flight are achieving. (November 11, 2012) I believe he was asking the question because it could be that although the light did go on when he checked before a particular flight, what if the next time was the time it did not work, and he was already in the air? Suppose he checked it the required "once" and said, okay that's great, it's safe to fly, but suppose instead of checking it just once, he checked it again and it didn't light? Marilyn responds:

That's exactly the question I answered! I wrote that the tests don't tell him about the future. They tell him only about the past. But that's important information, too.

Check back on Wednesday from more information from a retired pilot with more than 50 years of experience in the aviation business.